Noisy Children Welcome In This Nursery

December 9, 1985|By Valerie Hill-Morgan, Staff Writer

Children rattling tambourines, clacking little red musical sticks, blowing horns and loudly singing nursery rhymes don`t unnerve Mary Ann Hudgins or those who assist her in the special therapeutic program at the Jack and Jill Nursery.

They welcome the children`s noisy behavior. It lets them know that those enrolled in the special program gradually are improving. They are learning to interact with others, building self-esteem and learning to obey and trust.

In state documents, the children Hudgins works with are classified as neglected or abused. As a result of their maltreatment, these children often are impaired intellectually, have difficulty following instructions, sitting still, playing with other children or communicating, according to Hudgins, coordinator of the therapeutic program at the nursery on Southwest Second Street in Fort Lauderdale.

``Most children who have been abused or neglected are very rigid and afraid to move out of their environment,`` Hudgins said. ``It`s good when they reach the point where they`re learning to play with other children and participate in group activity; we recognize it as a sign that they are improving.``

The Early Childhood Development Association is financed by federal, state and local dollars and provides day-care services primarily to low-income families that pay on a sliding scale. It also offers a therapeutic day-care program at Golden Acres Child Care Center in Pompano Beach.

The Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach programs serve a total of 32 children who have been placed under the state`s Protective Services Division because they have been abused and/or neglected. The state spends about $126,000 annually on the two programs.

Before children begin the therapeutic program, they undergo a battery of memory, motor and educational tests developed by the staff of Nova University`s Family Center. An individualized educational plan is developed, and weekly lesson plans are used as part of therapeutic training.

Each weekday for an hour, the children, ages 2 to 5, are separated from the other children enrolled in the two nurseries` regular day-care programs. The abused and neglected children spend that time in specialized play and learning sessions in small groups. They are enrolled in the therapeutic program as long as they are under protective services treatment.

``The whole idea is to offer treatment to the child as well as to allow the child to observe his non-abused peers,`` said Glenda Williams, the program director.

The 1 1/2-year-old program also provides help to the abused and neglected children`s parents and guardians. The parents, who meet every Thursday for about 90 minutes, learn parenting skills and how to interact with their children, said Trudy Hill, the agency`s parent therapist.

``You can`t just treat the children. In order to be effective, you have to treat the parents or guardians, too,`` Hill said. ``It`s important for the parents to know how to nurture and interact with their children.``

Hill said that when many of the parents first started their treatment, they did not play with their children or show affection toward them. They did not know how to manage their children and were quick to punish them rather than to make positive remarks to them.

For example, Hill said that one parent thought her child was hyperactive because he had difficulty sitting quietly in church for three hours.

``It`s unreasonable to expect a 3-year-old to sit for that long,`` Hill said. ``We try to teach the parents that children`s behavior varies with each developmental stage.``

Hill said that besides the Thursday adult sessions, every six weeks parents and children get together at the center for a 90-minute play and learning session. They participate in sing-alongs, do arts and crafts and play games, she said.

Because two of the parents, both Haitian, do not understand English that well, the agency recently created a mini-group, Williams said.

``It was difficult for them to work with the rest of the group because they do not know the language,`` Williams said. ``We didn`t want to alienate them from their children, who are bilingual, and from the rest of the group.``

Williams said there are at least 78 other children in other day-care programs run by the Early Child Development Association who need the treatment. However, because of limited funds, the program is able to serve only the few enrolled.